PawSox reliever Fields picks perfect time for breakout season

Tuesday

Sep 11, 2012 at 10:46 AM

PAWTUCKET -- When the Seattle Mariners selected Josh Fields in the first round of the 2008 draft, they sent him right to Double-A in 2009. He'd set the Georgia Bulldogs' career record for saves and pitched in the College World Series.

Brian MacPherson Journal Sports Writer brianmacp

PAWTUCKET -- When the Seattle Mariners selected Josh Fields in the first round of the 2008 draft, they sent him right to Double-A in 2009. He'd set the Georgia Bulldogs' career record for saves and pitched in the College World Series.

He was polished. He was ready.

He had a 6.48 ERA.

When the Red Sox acquired Fields from the Seattle Mariners as a little-mentioned part of the Erik Bedard trade in 2011, Fields had pitched in Double-A for parts of three seasons with the Mariners and finally seemed to have figured out the level. He'd even earned a promotion to Triple-A only to walk 13 hitters in 13 innings at that level.

The Red Sox sent Fields right back to Double-A for the rest of last season and the first part of this season. It was there that he met Portland pitching coach Bob Kipper -- and there that, it seems, the 27-year-old righty figured out how to pitch.

"More than anything else, it was just the mental game mixed in with the delivery," Fields said. "I simplified it in my mind, not thinking about different little things in my delivery, trying to focus on one or two big ideas and working on that and being focused enough not to let the small things get in my way."

Fields missed the first round of the Governors' Cup playoffs with groin tightness, but after throwing two bullpen sessions on the side, he's expected to be good to go when the PawSox host the Charlotte Knights in Game 1 of the Governors' Cup Finals on Tuesday night at McCoy Stadium.

But even a championship ring might not be a crowning achievement for Fields this season. After fighting through three years of struggles at the minor-league level, he's put himself in position to be added to the Red Sox roster in September or, failing that, to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft in December, putting him in consideration for a major-league job next spring.

Fields compiled a 2.62 ERA with 59 strikeouts and 16 walks in 44 2/3 innings pitched out of the bullpen for Double-A Portland this season. He bottomed out after a rough April in which he walked six hitters in a span of six innings pitched.

"When I started out, it was like always," he said. "I hit a rough spot at the end of the first month of the season, maybe, a rough patch of several outings where I just didn't throw very well. After that was when I really started to talk to Kip more one-on-one, and, for me, it helped big-time. I really tried to pay attention because he's done a lot and been there, places I've not been, and he's done more than me as far as this game goes. I tried to be a sponge, to soak it up."

Having simplified his delivery and his mental approach, he struck out 18 and walked one in 10 1/3 innings pitched in the month of May. After July 1, he struck out 19 and walked two while allowing just a single earned run in 15 1/3 innings.

Since an early August promotion to Pawtucket, he has struck out 19 and walked just two in 13 2/3 innings pitched.

"He's got power stuff -- plus fastball, tight, nasty, biting slider," PawSox manager Arnie Beyeler said. "He's 94-97-ish. That's what we've seen. When he's down in the zone, it plays up. Like all guys, when you're behind and up, you get hit, but it's power stuff."

Eye-popping numbers like that, even as a 26- and 27-year-old in the minor leagues, have made this an interesting offseason for Fields. After this season, he will have spent enough time in the minor leagues to be eligible for the Rule 5 draft. If he is not added to the 40-man roster by the Red Sox, other teams will be able to pluck him away and stash him on their roster -- though, by rule, they'll have to keep him in the major leagues all year.

In other words, the major leagues look closer for Fields now than they ever have before.

"I'd be lying if I said I never thought about it, but that's just human nature," he said. "That goes back to I've been learning this year about managing the distractions. The reality is that I'm here. I'm not in the big leagues. This is where I'm at right now. What I have to worry about is getting my job done today and then, ultimately, the game tomorrow is the next step. Understanding to just focus on what you're doing here, what you're doing now is hugely important to how well you perform. If my mind wasn't in it -- if I was worried about being protected, worried about getting that call-up, playing for that -- that's a distraction, and that's not something I want to be in the forefront of my mind."

Twitter: @brianmacp

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